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RWANDA – FRANCE: Landmark Genocide Trial

RWANDA – FRANCE: Landmark Genocide Trial The former intellingence chief's conviction will serve as a precedent. In a landmark trial, a French court has sentenced Pascal Simbikangwa , intelligence chief of the regime that planned the massacre of an estimated 800,000 people, to 25 years in prison over the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. He was found guilty of complicity in genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity. Simbikangwa was arrested in 2008 while living under an alias on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte . He is the first man to be convicted in France in connection with the genocide against the Tutsi. He denied all the charges against him. Observers said this trial served as a precedent, given its likely impact on other cases before the country's judiciary. Rwandan Justice Minister Johnston Busingye said the judgment was a “milestone for justice.” He said it redeemed the image of the French judicial system that had become “synonymous with shielding genocide suspects from justice.” (The New Times website, Kigali 15,16/3) The Independent (15/3) said that of the twenty other Rwanda genocide cases under investigation in France, there are two which could throw significant new light on the massacres and the role of Paris in supporting and arming the Hutu regime which inspired them. Agathe Habyarimana , widow of the president whose death was the trigger or excuse for the slaughter, is under investigation for her possible role in planning the genocide. She was air‐lifted out of Rwanda with 30 other senior Hutu leaders by the French army in the days immediately after the presidential plane was shot down. Even more intriguing is that of a criminal investigation begun in France in 2013 into the role played by Paul Baril , a retired senior French gendarmerie officer and former head of the late President François Mitterrand 's personal “anti‐terrorism” unit in the Elysée Palace. After retiring under a cloud from the gendarmerie, he created a security company, Secrets , which advised the Rwandan authorities in the early 1990s and helped to ship arms and train the Rwandan army. He flew into Kigali after the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana and just as the massacres were beginning. He has denied acting for the French government but has said that he was working “in France's interest”. (The Independent 15/3) IN BRIEF Angola – UK: Three custody officers will face manslaughter charges over the death of Jimmy Mubenga who died of cardio‐respiratory collapse on a plane as he was deported from the UK. Previously, an inquest jury found Mubenga was unlawfully killed by G4S guards who were restraining him. Mubenga and his wife lived in east London, after arriving in the UK in 1994. In 2006, he became involved in a dispute on an evening out that led him to being convicted of actual bodily harm and he served two years in prison. He was in the process of applying for permanent UK residency when the decision to deport him was taken. (BBC News Online 20/3) Central African Republic: The Jeddah‐based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ( OIC ) on March 7th named former Senegalese foreign minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio as a special envoy to the strife‐torn Central African Republic. The OIC said Gadio would bring “vast knowledge and skills” to the position. The OIC has 57 member nations, bringing together much of the Islamic world and often mediates in conflicts involving Muslims. (© AFP 7/3 2014) Côte d'Ivoire – ICC: Charles Ble Goude , the jailed right‐hand man of former president Laurent Gbagbo , is to be sent to the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) to face trial for crimes against humanity. Gbagbo's former youth leader was arrested in Ghana more than a year ago and extradited to Côte d'Ivoire but the authorities were hesitant to send him to the war crimes court. Amnesty International commended the decision and also urged Côte d'Ivoire to immediately turn in the former First Lady, Simone Gbagbo , to the ICC. (RFI 23/3; PANA, Abidjan 21/3) The Gambia – Saudi Arabia: President Yahya Jammeh , on a visit to Saudi Arabia, met the Saudi crown prince, Salman bin Abdul Aziz al Saud , on March 17th. The aim of the visit was to consolidate bilateral relations between the two countries, and meet officials such as the director‐general of the Saudi Fund for Development and the secretary‐general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference ( OIC ). (PANA, Dakar 18/3) Libya – France: Gunmen shot dead a French engineer, Patrice Real, in the eastern city of Benghazi on March 2nd. The killing was the latest in a string of attacks and kidnappings targeting foreigners in the North African nation, which has been awash with guns since the 2011 uprising that toppled long‐time dictator Moammar Gaddafy . Real worked for Ideal Medical Project Engineering , a company doing extension work at Benghazi Medical Centre, said Ibrahim al‐Sharaa, a spokesman for security services in the city. He was in a car with an Algerian driver at the time of the attack, he said. An Italian engineer working for a construction company in the eastern Libyan town of Tobruk went missing on March 22nd, local media reported on March 23rd. He was working for Italian construction company Enrico Ravanelli on a project in Tobruk's Al‐Hadaek neighbourhood, news website Al‐Wasat reported. (© AFP 2,23/3 2014) Tunisia – Russia: President Moncef Marzouki said his country is committed to strengthening co‐operation and partnership with Russia in the areas of the economy, trade and culture. He was speaking after talks with the visiting Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov , according to a statement issued by the Tunisian presidency.The Russian minister said that the two sides agreed to bolster political consultations, (PANA, Tunis 4/3) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series Wiley

RWANDA – FRANCE: Landmark Genocide Trial

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ISSN
0001-9844
eISSN
1467-825X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-825X.2014.05633.x
Publisher site
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Abstract

The former intellingence chief's conviction will serve as a precedent. In a landmark trial, a French court has sentenced Pascal Simbikangwa , intelligence chief of the regime that planned the massacre of an estimated 800,000 people, to 25 years in prison over the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. He was found guilty of complicity in genocide and complicity in crimes against humanity. Simbikangwa was arrested in 2008 while living under an alias on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte . He is the first man to be convicted in France in connection with the genocide against the Tutsi. He denied all the charges against him. Observers said this trial served as a precedent, given its likely impact on other cases before the country's judiciary. Rwandan Justice Minister Johnston Busingye said the judgment was a “milestone for justice.” He said it redeemed the image of the French judicial system that had become “synonymous with shielding genocide suspects from justice.” (The New Times website, Kigali 15,16/3) The Independent (15/3) said that of the twenty other Rwanda genocide cases under investigation in France, there are two which could throw significant new light on the massacres and the role of Paris in supporting and arming the Hutu regime which inspired them. Agathe Habyarimana , widow of the president whose death was the trigger or excuse for the slaughter, is under investigation for her possible role in planning the genocide. She was air‐lifted out of Rwanda with 30 other senior Hutu leaders by the French army in the days immediately after the presidential plane was shot down. Even more intriguing is that of a criminal investigation begun in France in 2013 into the role played by Paul Baril , a retired senior French gendarmerie officer and former head of the late President François Mitterrand 's personal “anti‐terrorism” unit in the Elysée Palace. After retiring under a cloud from the gendarmerie, he created a security company, Secrets , which advised the Rwandan authorities in the early 1990s and helped to ship arms and train the Rwandan army. He flew into Kigali after the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana and just as the massacres were beginning. He has denied acting for the French government but has said that he was working “in France's interest”. (The Independent 15/3) IN BRIEF Angola – UK: Three custody officers will face manslaughter charges over the death of Jimmy Mubenga who died of cardio‐respiratory collapse on a plane as he was deported from the UK. Previously, an inquest jury found Mubenga was unlawfully killed by G4S guards who were restraining him. Mubenga and his wife lived in east London, after arriving in the UK in 1994. In 2006, he became involved in a dispute on an evening out that led him to being convicted of actual bodily harm and he served two years in prison. He was in the process of applying for permanent UK residency when the decision to deport him was taken. (BBC News Online 20/3) Central African Republic: The Jeddah‐based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ( OIC ) on March 7th named former Senegalese foreign minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio as a special envoy to the strife‐torn Central African Republic. The OIC said Gadio would bring “vast knowledge and skills” to the position. The OIC has 57 member nations, bringing together much of the Islamic world and often mediates in conflicts involving Muslims. (© AFP 7/3 2014) Côte d'Ivoire – ICC: Charles Ble Goude , the jailed right‐hand man of former president Laurent Gbagbo , is to be sent to the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) to face trial for crimes against humanity. Gbagbo's former youth leader was arrested in Ghana more than a year ago and extradited to Côte d'Ivoire but the authorities were hesitant to send him to the war crimes court. Amnesty International commended the decision and also urged Côte d'Ivoire to immediately turn in the former First Lady, Simone Gbagbo , to the ICC. (RFI 23/3; PANA, Abidjan 21/3) The Gambia – Saudi Arabia: President Yahya Jammeh , on a visit to Saudi Arabia, met the Saudi crown prince, Salman bin Abdul Aziz al Saud , on March 17th. The aim of the visit was to consolidate bilateral relations between the two countries, and meet officials such as the director‐general of the Saudi Fund for Development and the secretary‐general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference ( OIC ). (PANA, Dakar 18/3) Libya – France: Gunmen shot dead a French engineer, Patrice Real, in the eastern city of Benghazi on March 2nd. The killing was the latest in a string of attacks and kidnappings targeting foreigners in the North African nation, which has been awash with guns since the 2011 uprising that toppled long‐time dictator Moammar Gaddafy . Real worked for Ideal Medical Project Engineering , a company doing extension work at Benghazi Medical Centre, said Ibrahim al‐Sharaa, a spokesman for security services in the city. He was in a car with an Algerian driver at the time of the attack, he said. An Italian engineer working for a construction company in the eastern Libyan town of Tobruk went missing on March 22nd, local media reported on March 23rd. He was working for Italian construction company Enrico Ravanelli on a project in Tobruk's Al‐Hadaek neighbourhood, news website Al‐Wasat reported. (© AFP 2,23/3 2014) Tunisia – Russia: President Moncef Marzouki said his country is committed to strengthening co‐operation and partnership with Russia in the areas of the economy, trade and culture. He was speaking after talks with the visiting Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov , according to a statement issued by the Tunisian presidency.The Russian minister said that the two sides agreed to bolster political consultations, (PANA, Tunis 4/3)

Journal

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series – Wiley

Published: Jan 1, 2014

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